Friday, 29 April 2011

I noticed only one reader was perceptive enough to get to the root of the problem. This is his comment:

We do not need talent in Malaysia as long as we are resources rich. We only want people who could not think to stay behind so that that we (who sit on top) can continue to steal and loot without being questioned.

We continue to steal and loot while other counties benefit from our brain drain. Don't you think this is a perfect win-win situation?????

Malaysia Boleh!!

That is precisely what the BN government thinks. After all, it makes a huge sum from oil revenue, why should it even bother with improving the economy?

The problem is, Malaysian have allowed it to go on. They either oblige the government by migrating or simply find a way around the abuse and injustice.

I can't blame those who migrate. When there is a better place out there, why stay back and suffer?

But I wonder about those who actually stay back (and complain). Why aren't they more politically aware and concerned?

Wednesday, 27 April 2011

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The six were arrested in the past week in connection with alleged public order offences they are said to have committed at the TUC march last month.

But officers moved to arrest them this week as they feared the group were planning further disruption at the royal wedding on Friday. The six have been issued with bail conditions stopping them from entering central London on the day of the wedding.

It brings the total number of anarchists banned from London on the day of the wedding to 68. And Scotland Yard sources confirmed that further arrests are planned in the coming days as they move to minimise the potential of trouble for Prince William and Kate Middleton on the big day.

Meanwhile officers announced that a proposed protest during the wedding by extremist group Muslims Against Crusades (MAC) has been rejected.

But a new request, by a group thought to want to protests about issues in the Middle East, have now lodged a request to protest on the day.

MAC had asked to protest outside Westminster Abbey on the day of the wedding.

After meetings with the group, Scotland Yard agreed they could protest there, but not until hours after the wedding had finished. The group refused and did not turn up to a meeting on Thursday to negotiate with officers.
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Now I'm thinking about the rare moments when Malaysians have taken to the streets in the past.

I'm remembering how those protests took place on otherwise uneventful days.

And then I'm reminiscing over how they were brutally treated by the Malaysian government.

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

There have been plenty of views against the whole idea of an official email system. But here is one reader's view on why the 1Malaysia email system SHOULD be implemented.

I usually can be persuaded to see reason, but this is not one of those times.

The reader's comment:

The updates of PM's official appointments will be in the email, opinion polls will be conducted via email. You'll also be invited to dine with the PM as his FB Friends have enjoyed. An email between PM, Government and The Prople.

What's so hard to understand it's functions? The entire government will pay a listening ear and update you on national matters. It's an effective means of communication with every individual rakyat. There will be times that you need to deal with a government agency, the email will help you because you'll have excess to the relevant department and get updates.

My response to the comment:

I don't deign to speak on behalf of anyone else but myself. So here is my two sen worth.

1. There is no way that I would want to dine with the PM. There is absolutely no need to. He is not a celebrity, but merely a civil servant who should be carrying out his official duties (which by the way, do not include wasting public funds).

2. If there is a facebook page for his fans, it would be redundant to have email to communicate with his non-fans, unless he is trying to win us over for political purposes. In that case, it is illegal to be using government funds for personal interests.

3. Opinion polls can be conducted on the PM's blog. Anyone wishing to give any feedback would be able to do so on the official site. Bear in mind, feedback can sometimes be negative (even though constructive) and most companies do this under conditions of anonymity. An email address would ensure only positive comments see the light of day.

4. As for its functions, updating us on national matters is what the newspapers should be doing, only they were not so biased. If an email account was necessary for a citizen to be updated, we would be doing those with no internet access a great disservice indeed.

5. "The entire government will pay a listening ear.." That statement nearly had me falling off my chair from laughing. For a moment, I thought the reader was being extremely sarcastic. Whatever this current government may be described as, it is not a "listening" government. Most governments around the world sit up and listen when its citizens take to the streets. This government tear-gasses them and sprays them with chemical-laced water.

6. As I have briefly mentioned earlier, access to relevant departments within the government is already available via the official website. All they need to do is to create a feedback form.

I appreciate that some readers are able to see the other side of the coin and perhaps play devil's advocate as well, but one must not be naive and gullible to the workings of the government.

At the end of the day, most Malaysians know that the government undertakes projects based on how much personal interest is at stake, not the best interests of its citizens.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — Tricubes Bhd admitted today the 1 Malaysia email service is a financial lifeline for a company at risk of being delisted from Bursa Malaysia, adding it is targeting 5.4 million subscribers without a guarantee the government will use it.

When there are free webmails available like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and so many others, spending millions of ringgit to develop email accounts is an utter waste of public funds.

It really is like trying to sell ice to an Eskimo, as one critic put it.

The protesters shouted “Hidup Melayu” and warned MCA against “playing with fire” as its actions could cause a repeat of the 1969 racial clashes.

MCA leaders had blasted Utusan for what they described as a continued racist attack on the Chinese community especially after the Sarawak polls.

The overwhelming Chinese support for the opposition led to the fall of 12 state seats, more than double the amount previously.

Utusan had described the Chinese as being ungrateful and called for the Malays to unite under a campaign called “1Melayu, 1Bumi”, mimicking Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia, which was meant to promote racial pluralism.

Columnists from the Malay daily also accused DAP, the Chinese-majority component party in Pakatan Rakyat, of racism and attempting to oust the nation’s Malay leadership.

Perkasa declared its intention to spearhead the “1Malay, 1Bumi” campaign and warned MCA that it would “face the consequences” if it did not stop its criticism against Utusan.

The Malay right-wing group also demanded MCA to retract its call for a boycott on the Malay daily, which Perkasa described as the “sole defender of the Malay voice”.
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Check FMT for updates and watch the video.

Bear in mind all MCA did was to criticize Utusan Melayu, which publishes bigoted articles that is not worth the paper it is printed on.

It is becoming so evident that either Najib has absolutely no control over these village idiots or he endorses their brand of racism.

Sunday, 24 April 2011

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's opposition leader, tomorrow faces the resumption of one of the less edifying cases to have been heard amid the colonnaded formality of the Kuala Lumpur High Court: his trial for allegedly sodomising a 25-year-old aide named Saiful Bukhari.

It is not the only scandal with which the former deputy prime minister, whose dismissal and first trial for sodomy made world headlines more than a decade ago, is dealing.

The man once feted as Newsweek's "Asian of the Year", whose supporters include Al Gore, the former US vice-president, and Paul Wolfowitz, a former World Bank president, is also accused of being the star of a 21-minute sex tape featuring a Chinese prostitute (by way of variation, female), a clip of which was briefly posted on YouTube.

But these are only two instances of the sexually related incidents that fill the country's papers and gossip sites every day. So numerous are stories of physical misdemeanours in this conservative, Muslim-majority but essentially easygoing country that the question is being asked: are Malaysians obsessed with sex?

Within the past few days, it has emerged that the education department in the eastern state of Terengganu has set up a boot camp to which it has sent 66 schoolboys to deal with their "effeminate tendencies".

"The severity of the symptoms vary. We understand that some people end up as homosexual," said the department's director, Razali Daud, "but we will do our best to limit the number. If left unchecked, it could become a problem for them, their families and society."

Earlier this month, a well-known MP, Ibrahim Ali, the leader of the Malay rights group Perkasa, asked in parliament if wives truly "understand their roles". "Husbands driving home after work see things that are sexually arousing and seek their wives to satisfy their urges," he said, complaining that sometimes women pretend to be busy with other matters. "They will say, 'wait, I'm cooking,' or 'wait, I'm getting ready to visit relatives'." They evidently required a "proper explanation" that "in Islam, wives are supposed to stop everything to fulfil their husbands' demands."

Although now an independent, Ibrahim was once a luminary in the governing Barisan Nasional alliance, which cannot appear too overbearing in matters of personal morality given that it includes non-Muslim Chinese, Indian and indigenous components as well as Muslim Malays.

The Islamist opposition party PAS, however, is less constrained, as its youth leader, Nasrudin Tantawi, made clear in February. "We have identified favourite spots where lovebirds mingle," he said, warning that his organisation would be helping to check "immoral activities" in the run-up to Valentine's Day. "We are deploying our members to preach and distribute pamphlets promoting sin-free lifestyles."

The action was certainly necessary, he said. "Last year there was a campaign to promote a no-panties day."

Such remarks do not go without comment. The country's Women, Family and Community Minister, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, has already condemned the Terengganu state government's boot camp, and Ibrahim's antediluvian views have provoked widespread condemnation.

"Ibrahim must apologise and submit himself for gender sensitivity training," said Teresa Kok, of the opposition Democratic Action Party. Nasrudin's Valentine's Day campaign, meanwhile, led to PAS's youth leader being slapped down by more senior members of his own party.

One of the main initiatives of the Constitutional Law Committee's MyConstitution campaign is to produce a series of Rakyat Service Advertisements (RSAs) to visualise 9 main themes of the Federal Constitution.

Saturday, 23 April 2011

My apologies over the false alarm about RPK being picked up by Malaysian authorities.

I realise that it is probably illegal for Malaysian authorities to make any arrests in a foreign country. The closest they can get is to have their Thai counterparts cooperate and make the arrest on their behalf.

However, he has been asked to present himself at the Malaysian embassy in Bangkok to make a statement.

His lawyers have advised him against, for VERY good reason.

Walking into an embassy of one's country is to gain diplomatic immunity - wherever in the world one is. But in RPK's case, walking into the Malaysian embassy is tantamount to flying back home to Kuala Lumpur and walking into Bukit Aman.

It is enough to get him extradited back and sent right back to jail.

PETALING JAYA: Popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who is presently in Bangkok, has decided not to go to the Malaysian embassy in the city as was asked to do so earlier today.

Instead he has informed the Malaysian embassy officials that he was willing to meet them at his hotel in Bangkok tomorrow.

Earlier today embassy officials have approached Raja Petra, popularly known as RPK, to be present at the embassy at 9pm tonight.

“He was asked to make his way to the embassy in the Thai capital to have his statement recorded,” said Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement president Haris Ibrahim.

Haris said that Raja Petra was personally informed by Malaysian embassy officials to make himself present tonight.

“However we (his lawyers) advised him not to go and he has agreed to listen to us,” Haris told FMT.

“We have informed the embassy officials that Raja Petra was willing to cooperate with them and the police.

“He is ready to meet the officials tomorrow at his hotel, not at the embassy,” he said.

RPK is in Bangkok to attend an MCLM event. He is the president of the civil liberties movement. He met up with Malaysians and launched the Thailand Chapter of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement.

“Embassy officials told him in person just before this afternoon at the MCLM event at the Florida Hotel in Bangkok to be present at the embassy right after the event,” said Haris.

Haris also stressed that RPK was not arrested by the embassy officials.

“The officials told him that there were two police officials waiting to take a statement from him. We told them he will cooperate with the police, but not at the embassy.

“We are now waiting for the embassy officials to revert to us after discussing with the police officials,” he said.

Friday, 22 April 2011

I have no objections whatsoever to the welfare protection of our Law Enforcement.

The last time I checked, they were so lowly paid, and I really couldn't blame them for trying to earn extra money through taking bribes.

This is one issue that the public continually ignores for more pressing issues like bad governance and draconian laws.

But I think the welfare of the policeman is very important. This is the security and future of our country that we are talking about here.

A policeman who is worrying about how to make ends meet is hardly going to be putting all his efforts into bringing criminals down. He has other issues to think about.

This is where dirty politicians also come into the picture. Take Hishammuddin Hussein for example, who is doing his best to win the hearts of the police force.

Being the only one who has championed the cause of policemen, he is now going to have them eating out of his hands while coming out smelling like roses (even if he slips his hand into the national coffers while he's at it).

And we wonder why the ruling coalition, BN, have their backs covered by the police.

We do have some serious issues in this country, but someone also needs to spare some thought for the men in blue.

Thursday, 21 April 2011

On April 16th the east Malaysian state of Sarawak went to the polls for the 10th time since Sarawak joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. In many ways Sarawak is very different from other states in Malaysia. Of a population of just over 2.5 million, Malays (the dominant ethnic group in Malaysia as a whole) constitute a little over 21 per cent, with Chinese comprising between 27-29 per cent. The rest of the state’s population consist of 27 different ethnic groups of which the Iban, constituting 31 per cent of the total population, are the largest.

In addition Sarawak is not only home to the largest number of Christians in Malaysia (in a country where Islam dominates social and political life), but where Christians constitute the largest segment of the population (around 43 per cent). Separated from peninsular Malaysia by 370 miles Sarawak had a very different colonial history to the peninsular and economically despite a wealth of natural resources the state remains one of Malaysia’s poorest states. However despite the array of Sarawak specific political parties the politics of Sarawak have largely conformed to the pattern in Malaysia as a whole. In other words component parties of the governing Barisan Nasional (principally the PBB) have held power in the state since 1963 with Abdul Taib bin Muhamad of the presiding as the state’s Chief Minister since 1981.

For all the opposition’s aim of denying the BN its two-thirds majority in the state legislature, the result of the election was never in doubt. Instead the election campaign itself became a) a proxy for the continuing struggle between Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition and the BN leadership b) a test of support for the premiership of Najib Tun Razak in order to determine whether the country’s 12th general election will be held this year or next and c) a test of whether the Pakatan Rakyat could take its brand of a multi-ethnic alternative to the BN beyond peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak matters because as a result of deliberate malportionment the state returns 31 seats of the country’s 222 seats in parliament, approximately 14 more than it would if constituencies were equally. In the 2008 general election while the Barisan Nasional suffered its worst election result since 1969, Sarawak delivered the coalition 30 seats of its total haul of 140. Indeed with the seats won in neighboring Sabah (24) many commentators concluded that the results from East Malaysia kept the Barisan Nasional in power. Thus the Sarawak state elections served were seen as a bell weather that could determine if the Barisan Nasional had recovered sufficiently to call an early snap general election.

The campaign was lively to say the least with the country’s anti-corruption commission (MACC) admonished for failing to take any action against Chief Minister Taib over the acquisition of over 1.5 million hectares of Native Customary Rights land for his relatives and supporters. These revelations came two months a Swiss NGO (The Bruno Manser Fund) had early revealed a massive timber corruption scheme that involved kickbacks to the Taib family. The report blacklisted 49 Taib-linked companies in 8 countries. In addition according to a separate report by the opposition Democratic Action Party Taib had also failed to account for $1.5 billion of Sarawak state funds between 2007-2010.

Some aircraft even have 2 different engine options and each configuration has to be calculated with a whole new loop of loads.

For instance, the Airbus A380 used the Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines that were especially designed for it. There is also a Pratt & Whitney (PW3000?) configuration, and each aircraft (which has its own Manufacturing Serial Number) has to be analysed and tested before being certified as airworthy.

So, when someone tells me that an aircraft engine found its way to South America, I find it very astounding indeed, for various reasons.

Firstly, there is a lot of paperwork involved. The aviation industry does not simply allow people to fit in engines onto planes on any whim or fancy. There has to be routine maintenance checks, which will require numerous signatures.

Before any aircraft engine is released, it will have to undergo thorough inspection, otherwise it will be rejected by the airworthiness authorities of whichever country that will certify the aircraft which adopts this new engine. Those are the rules and regulations of the aviation industry.

Often, the original equipment manufacturers will have to be informed as "after-sales service" is a very significant part of aviation equipment. In this case, especially because it is a military aircraft, the Americans want Malaysia to comply with their export control regulations.

Secondly, aircraft parts are fragile. They have to be specially packed and clearly marked when being shipped. It is not a matter of slipping it into the car boot and driving off. They are also quite heavy, which means substantial equipment will be needed to move it around.

Even car engines are heavy, what more an aircraft engine!

Thirdly, considering there is paperwork involved and it happens to be a very large item, it simply cannot be stolen. Charging two low-level technicians is a most ludicrous attempt at pacifying the masses, much less the professionals in the industry.

The diplomat (POLCOUNS - political counsel?) McFeeters clearly does not believe it was stolen. His cable asks for advice if the arms export control act has been violated.

It could only be violated if it was sold, not stolen.

To slip a massive engine like that out of an air force base is even more unbelievable. Security in military bases are very high and no one can go in or out without some form of identification. From deduction, it requires more than 2 people to carry out the operation of relocating those engines.

This very strongly implies that there were people very high up who approved these operations.

As McFeeters suggests, "The Prime Minister will have a personal stake, given his past role as Defense Minister, and that could explain in part his prominence in the media coverage of this issue thus far."

1.(C) SUMMARY, COMMENT, AND ACTION REQUEST: On December 19, the Malaysian press reported the 2007 theft of a J-85 aircraft engine (for the F-5 aircraft). Subsequent reports indicated that, in fact, two engines had been stolen and sold to an international company in South America. The story has been front-page news in Malaysia's government-influenced press and uncensored blogosphere since then. In recent days, Post has queried Malaysian interlocutors on the current location of the engines. They either do not know the location or have been instructed to withhold information while a police investigation continues. Malaysian interlocutors also have not provided adequate explanation as to why, after two years, this incident has just now become public.

2.(C) Comment: We do not yet have sufficient command of the facts to determine whether this story will have significant domestic repercussions. The Prime Minister will have a personal stake, given his past role as Defense Minister, and that could explain in part his prominence in the media coverage of this issue thus far. More important, however, from the perspective of U.S. interests, is how this case can be used to advance our call for a more effective export control regime in Malaysia. Our strongest leverage, it appears, is the need for Malaysia to persuade us that military transfers subject to the Arms Export Control Act can be carried out with confidence in the Malaysians ability and will to comply with our law and regulation.

(Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will likely put key economic reforms on ice as he tries to rebuild voter support after his ruling coalition recorded its worst performance in 24 years in a local election in a key stronghold.

Bets are largely off for a snap general election to take place this year, with Najib expected to rethink his strategy of promoting inclusive growth in the Muslim-majority multi-cultural nation to win back the minority vote, analysts said.

In Saturday's state poll, Najib's ruling National Front retained control of its stronghold Sarawak, which accounts for a fifth of its parliamentary seats, but the opposition more than doubled its seat tally as ethnic Chinese mostly voted against the government.

Structural economic changes such as further scaling back fuel subsidies, introducing a goods and services tax and reforming a decades-old race-based policy would be relegated in Najib's list of priorities for now, analysts said.

"After the outcome in Sarawak, Najib will need a general election mandate before making any big moves," said Ibrahim Suffian, director at the independent opinion polling firm Merdeka Center.

"Enacting fuel subsidy cuts and a goods and services tax will just add to the political issues that he will have to deal with ahead of the general election."

For those unfamiliar with the Malay language, the gist of it is that the Opposition (namely PKR/Keadilan) were expecting the ruling coalition, BN, to win only 21 of the 71 seats, and predicting that the Chief Minister would lose his seat.

It didn't happen. BN won 55 of the 71 seats and the Chief Minister retained his seat.

A lot of people are angry with the Sarawakians. Judging by the level of contempt on Facebook and around the blogs, it is not a good time to be Sarawakian right now.

"You deserve exactly what you get!" has become the common refrain.

But let's look deeper at the situation. PKR were expecting to win far more seats than they actually did. But they only clinched 3!! It makes you wonder - why did that happen?

I think one answer comes from the leadership style and common practice in selecting candidates.

PKR’s stars like Baru Bian in Ba'kelalan and Nicholas Bawin in Batang Ai are strong leaders in their own right. They are credible Dayak leaders from earlier parties like SNAP and PBDS.

PKR only gave them the platform to contest after SNAP and PBDS were “deregistered” by the BN-controlled Registrar of Societies.

When it comes to Sarawak (or East Malaysia for that matter), who would know the people, issues and political climate better than the East Malaysians themselves?

But these credible East Malaysian leaders are being sidelined by shoddy West Malaysian candidates, and PKR expects the voters to accept them with open arms just because they are the Opposition!

What rubbish!

Have they gone down to ground level (and I'm talking about long before the state elections) to gauge what the real issues of the voters are? Do they understand the mind of the East Malaysian?

The question is: DO THEY GENUINELY CARE?

Of course, I concede that a lot of rural East Malaysians are also simple-minded (read: stupid). All that is necessary is a few ringgit, a bicycle, some rice - and the vote belongs to the giver of those gifts.

Maybe the Bible is right after all: "It is more blessed to give than to receive. [Acts 20:35]"

OK, I will stop being sarcastic. I'm fairly certain BN did not give those gifts without expecting something in return.

DAP on the other hand, contested 15 seats in mostly urban areas and managed to win 12 of them. I thought they performed well, but a reader said, "I don't think so, chinese win in chinese majority area.This party needs to work harder to become a true multiracial party. To me, dap will always be a sinocentric party."

Yes, those seats that DAP won in the urban areas were highly Chinese-dominated constituencies. So DAP will also have to work not just on their image, but on the issues they take up - being sincere and genuine to all races, for the well-being, not to gain votes.

I do make an exception for Alice Lau of DAP though. She worked the ground long before the elections and it was a great disappointment to be defeated by postal votes and money politics in Bawang Assan.

It's not too late. We will still have the next General Elections, and this may be even more exciting than the last one.

Pakatan Rakyat are aware that they are not merely up against BN. They are also up against Maybank, Utusan Melayu, New Straits Times, The Star, Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), Election Commission, Pos Malaysia, AirAsia, the Immigration department etc.

BN would be severely delusional to think that this win is a reflection of their popularity in Sarawak.

I wonder if beyond all that trash-talking about how well-liked they are, they know what people really think of them.

Especially the Chief Minister, aptly named Raja Berooke (beruk means ape) by some quarters. His simple-mindedness could confound even the primates in the jungles of Sarawak.

Word is, he has promptly appointed himself back on the throne, to the dismay of the PM, Najib Razak.

Friday, 15 April 2011

Why were there no records of Altantuya's entry into the country? Why did two unknown commandos with absolutely no motive get charged and convicted?

Can someone answer these questions?

This is the best piece I've read on the Mongolian model fiasco so far by Kim Quek

Raja Petra Kamarudin’s interview by TV3 last night is undoubtedly a piece of political propaganda aimed at cleansing Prime Minister Najib Razak’s taint with the Altantuya murder case ahead of the Sarawak elections two days from now.

Raja Petra’s interview was centered on an affidavit he signed on June 18, 2008, in which he claimed he was reliably told by his informant that Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor was at the scene of the crime to witness the blasting of Altantuya Shariibuu’s body. But Raja Petra now claims that he no longer believes what he believed then.

Let us be very clear on this issue at the very outset. The veracity or otherwise of that affidavit as well as whatever belief or disbelief Raja Petra may have over the Altantuya case does not add to or subtract one bit from the dark clouds that persist in hanging over Najib with regard to this murder case.

Failure of institutions

Such negative perceptions of Najib do not arise from so-and-so says this or that. Rather, they have accumulated over Najib’s own failure to conduct himself appropriately as well as the effort by our law-enforcing institutions to keep Najib out of bounds from due legal process. The overtly protective shield provided Najib is to the point of dereliction of duty and borders on criminal collusion.

It is these flagrant institutional failures as well Najib’s own clumsily evasive conduct that has deepened public suspicion. These instances are too many to enumerate, but we will mention a few to refresh public memory.

Starting with the police, there is no reason whatsoever why the police should have left Najib and his aide-de-camp Musa Safri out of its loop of investigation, when all the three accused were closely linked to the prime minister.

Police failure was even more glaring when it failed to act on all three of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s affidavits and video interview by three senior lawyers.

The information provided by Bala in these documents not only incriminated Najib (in first affidavit) but also accused Rosmah and Najib’s brother Nazim of forcing Bala and his family to flee the country with bribes and threats (recorded in video interview and submitted via the third affidavit). The third affidavit was in reply to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) written questions, and submitted in July 2010. There has been no response from MACC, despite written reminders by Bala’s lawyer.

What possible reason is there for the police and MACC to remain silent over these serious accusations, backed by details, against the Prime Minister and his family? If Najib and family are innocent, wouldn’t these law enforcing bodies have sprung to action in the first instance to clear the PM and family of such a horrible stigma?

Bizarre irregularities

The scenario in the court is even more bizarre. Revealing and critical evidence exposed in court was quickly smothered, instead of being pursued in the cause of truth and justice. The extraordinary part is that the attempt to bury these new evidences was not engendered by one or two parties but by all the three parties acting in concert – prosecutor, defence and judge.

One piece of evidence is the missing immigration record of Altantuya, and its erasure which hints at providing a lead to some high-powered involvement in the case. The other piece of evidence is an alleged photograph of Najib, Altantuya and the third accused having a meal in a restaurant, which if tendered, would have nailed Najib who repeatedly swore that he had never known nor met Altantuya.

This grotesque phenomenon of confluence of interest of all the judicial players in not pursuing the evidence can have only one explanation – Najib must be kept out of this case.

That justice might not have been fully served through the sentencing of the first two accused to death should be obvious, when the court never bothered to probe into the motive of executing the girl – and in such cruel fashion. It is not difficult to fathom why motive of murder was never mentioned in court. The simple answer is: there is none.

The two convicted killers, who were bodyguards to Najib, and trained to execute orders rigidly without question, had no motive on their own to kill someone they had never met. And since the third accused, who was accused of instigating the killing, was set free due to lack of evidence, then the remaining question must be: Who ordered the killing? Is it conceivable that the bodyguards had killed without order and without motive? Isn’t it logical to deduce that the mastermind and real culprit may still be lurching somewhere beyond the realm of the court?

It is clear that major questions and swirling doubts over the handling of the case are still unresolved. Until these are satisfactorily answered through a just court and an honourable police force, which can only be brought into existence through a complete change of political leadership, it is naïve to hope for the return of justice to the Altantuya family and the nation.

And until such time, Premier Najib Razak cannot expect to be free from the haunt of Altantuya’s murder.

The poor Straits Times reporter is getting his a$$ kicked. I think even I could answer his questions on behalf of RPK.

But this is interesting - evidently, the Singaporeans are just as interested to know about Najib and Rosmah's role in Altantuya's murder.

----------------------------------------------------
Dear Raja Petra,

We spoke briefly over the phone. I am writing a story on your comments made during the TV3 interview aired on Wednesday night, and also your latest article on Malaysia Today.

I would like to get a few fresh comments from you if possible.

My questions are as follows:

1. When was the TV3 interview, and who requested it? Yourself or TV3? If you had requested it, what was the purpose of the interview? Where was it conducted? Was it edited? Was it accurate?

2. Why did you make that statement in the interview, that you do not believe that Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor were involved in the altantuya Shaariibuu murder. Do you believe now that Najib and/or Rosmah were maligned? Or do you still believe they may have been involved somehow with Altantuya's death?

3. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has tweeted that the TV3 interview is due to the Sarawak elections. Rafizi Ramli said that the meeting at Tengku Razaleigh's place did not mention Najib, Rosmah or Altantuya. Din Merican has denied being involved in the whole thing and said he did not know you were going to sign a statutory declaration. Critics will say that the timing is close to the Sarawak election. And the interview was also aired just a few days after Anwar told reporters to ask Najib about Altantuya's murder. It could look as if your interview is aimed at neutralising this, and helping Najib's position especially in the Sarawak polls. What are your comments?

4. In your latest article on Malaysia Today, you said that the interview was to create a storm so that the police would investigate your SD. Does this mean that you do have doubts over Najib/Rosmah's innocence in the Altantuya murder?

Thank you so much for your time. I would be grateful for a reply today if that is possible.

What silly questions. How long have you been a reporter anyway? And have you already seen my entire more than one-hour interview? And do you know when the interview was done? Do you really think that this interview and the Anwar Ibrahim p0rn video are going to have a bearing on the Sarawak elections? If you do, then you had better ask to be transferred to the food and wine desk because you still have a long way to go to understanding politics.

I’m not talking about his private life. I’m talking about his leadership style. By putting up so many candidates in the Sarawak elections, many of whom are hopeless, PKR is doing damage to the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

DAP and PAS are doing much better in the campaign thus far. The record breaking, huge crowds at the main towns are the work of DAP. Anwar just went and spoke.

PKR’s stars like Baru Bian in Bakalelan and Nicholas Bawin in Batang Ai are strong leaders in their own right. They are credible Dayak leaders from earlier parties like SNAP and PBDS.

PKR only gave them the platform to contest after SNAP and PBDS were “deregistered” by the BN-controlled Registrar of Societies.

When will Anwar learn that he and his henchmen Azmin Ali and Tian Chua cannot go around talking down to people?. Sarawakians are a proud lot. They do not like to be told what to do.

Dictator Taib Mahmud too, does not like it when Najib and Muhyddin told him to step down. Sarawakians prefer to throw out Taib Mahmud themselves. There is no need for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to interfere. Sarawakians know what to do.

But Anwar does not know what to do. He is making the same blunder that he has made with PKR in Sabah. He chose the wrong leaders for the wrong reasons. Half of PKR’s Sabah leaders have left the party. The remaining half are at each other’s throats.

Anwar severely misjudged the politics of Sabah when he put a controversial, born loser Ansari Abdullah to contest in the Batu Sapi by-election last October.

PKR members walked out of the Pakatan gathering in protest after Anwar announced Ansari’s candidacy, followed by a humiliating boxing match at the Sandakan airport.

Along the way, Anwar burned his bridges with local party SAPP, the one and only party that left the BN government to help Anwar.

Anwar is creating enemies of friends everywhere. DAP in Sarawak, SNAP, SAPP, Hindraf, NGOs, MCLM, Movement for Change Sarawak and many other groups.

Pakatan to form the next government will need to rally more people from a bigger spectrum to take on the BN. What Anwar and his henchmen are doing is to drive away people who could help him become Prime Minister.

Are Azmin and Tian Chua and Anwar’s inner circle worried that more people will share their power when they form the next government? When will Anwar ever learn?

Monday, 11 April 2011

One of the main issues in Sarawak at the moment is Native Customary Rights (NCR) especially those involving land.

The Penan have been systematically sidelined for economical pursuits such as logging and mining.

There are a bunch of activists who have been trying to stop this from happening. One is Swiss-born Bruno Manser who has been missing for a long time and is feared dead.

Another is Steven Ng, who is KL-based but working on land grab issues for the past five years now.

On the 3rd of April, Steven Ng was denied entry into Sarawak in view of the upcoming elections. Evidently, the BN government does not want dicey issues brought up at this very critical period when they are trying to swindle the Sarawakians of their votes.

Steven Ng is not the only one. On the 8th of April, Wong Chin Huat was denied entry too, under section 66 of the Immigration Act, which allows immigration to restrict entry.

But he plans to use section 67 of the act to challenge the move. Section 67, he says, allows Malaysians to enter the state for legitimate political activity.

Both activists were blocked at the airport and had to fly back to KL on the next flight.

UPDATE: Since then, MCLM president Haris Ibrahim and former President of the Bar council Ambiga Sreenevasan have also been banned from entering Sarawak.

This is BN's way of restricting the flow of information that may damage their potential win in Sarawak. Is there still any doubt now about "free and fair" elections?

BN is now busy dishing out cash in a lame attempt to win over the Sarawakians. A few days back, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin presented RM6.35 million for financial assistance to 127 mission schools throughout Sarawak.

I don't know how many Sarawakians know about this. If you are Sarawakian and/or know of other Sarawakians, let them know what kind of government BN is and what kind of tricks they play.

Sunday, 10 April 2011

Eight students and three journalists were detained by The KL Sentral auxiliary police today after a press conference there at 10.30am.

As usual, right after the crowd had broken up, the police conveniently tapped them on the shoulder and informed them they were under arrest.

The students were part of the Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) or Graduates Solidarity.

Their identity cards were confiscated and they were taken to the Travers police station.

We need a group effort here to send a letter or call both Police (BUKIT AMAN) and the Travers Police Station to urge them to release all the students. Write these protest letters to the government and the police to express your strongest condemnation of the arrests and the ongoing denial of rights of expression.

We are writing to you to express our outrage and our strongest condemnation over your government's ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression.

We are appalled by your government and the police's latest actions and view this as yet another attempt by your government to intimidate Malaysian citizens, in particular, students from participating in any form of public assembly and exercising their freedom to express their views.

We demand that the students be released immediately and unconditionally. We further demand that your government stops the assault on freedom of expression.

We strongly urge you, once again, to stop bringing shame to Malaysia, a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. We would like to remind you that freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

The first act that Pakatan Rakyat leaders should do if they win the April 16 Sarawak polls is to seize all the files in Taib Mahmud's office, says a PKR leader.

KUCHING: Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud must be having sleepless nights nowadays. Post-nomination day on April 6, one after another, Pakatan Rakyat leaders are training their guns on his allegedly corrupt ways.

They freely flag revelations of corruption, cronyism and administrative abuses as well as the businesses owned by his friends and family members.

If Taib does get to sleep its probably filled with nightmares - which even his so-called '13 bomohs' can't seem to charm away.

Every 'ceramah' (political campaign), whether at IOI Food centre, Hui Sing Garden, Third Mile, 7th Mile bazaar, King Centre, Green Road or at Stutong Market, the issues flogged by the opposition is always related to Taib.

Some describe him as "pek moi" (white hair), others say he is the king of the "two-legged crocodiles" and yet others describe him as the new "white rajah" of Sarawak, who is more cruel than the colonialists.

For instance at the Stutong Market 'ceramah' organised by PKR last night, former Perak Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin alleged that 'pek moi" is the most corrupted leader in the country.

"Sarawak is rich having all the resources such as gas, oil, timber and land, yet her people are the second poorest in the country," he said.

"The people are poor because of Taib, and therefore we must change Taib and his government," he added.

He called on the people in the Batu Lintang constituency to vote for See Chee How who is a PKR candidate.

Seize files

DAP national adviser Lim Kit Siang is of the view that Taib is trying to mirror famed illusionist David Copperfield.

Alluding to Taib's often quoted "I want to make Sarawak the richest state in Malaysia" Lim said: "He wants to be David Copperfield by trying to turn the poorest state into the richest state.

"In fact he is turning the richest state into the poorest state."

Batu Lintang voters, Lim said, must show to Taib that they do not want him to continue to rule Sarawak, adding that they should have enough of his 30 years of corrupted government.

"We must make sure that Sarawak is no longer BN's 'fixed deposits' or as their puppets, because we shall show them we are not stupid," he said, adding that the people of Sarawak must create a political history by ousting the Taib government.

Another speaker, the MP for Ampang and PKR women's wing chief, Zuraida Kamaruddin said that if Pakatan Rakyat wins the next election on April 16, the Pakatan leaders must immediate seize all the files before they take them away.

"We must arrest Taib and his ministers and bring them to face the law of the country as they have committed crimes against the people of Sarawak" she alleged.

Taib's alleged properties overseas are worth billions of ringgit. He has been accused of giving away to his children's companies government contracts and prime land.

His sister's timber concessions and land-grabbing of native customary rights (NCR) land are the daily and nightly topics for campaigning.

"These are the issues that the people like to hear and that will determine where their votes will go," said a pensioner who attended the 'ceramah' at Stutong.

"After hearing all these, I will sure vote for change," he said, adding that "enough is enough."

Thursday, 7 April 2011

A Customs officer died today after falling from the third floor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) building on Jalan Cochrane where he was being investigated over a billion ringgit in unpaid taxes.

My first reaction was one of shock. My second was one of incredulity - you'd think with Teoh Beng Hock's death, the MACC would be more careful when carrying out their interrogations.

I was shocked because I had been hearing the news of this customs officer being investigated on every radio station on my way to work. No name was supplied, as far as I could remember.

I distinctly remember this news being broadcast on the radio because I used to roll my eyes so frequently at the MACC's attempt to look as if they investigate anyone who is involved in graft and corruption - and not only political opponents.

If MACC was genuinely sincere about fighting corruption, they would haul in all the BN politicians and have them account for their huge mansions cum palaces that they dwell in and the multiple trips that they take abroad at the expense of the tax payer.

But MACC does not do that.

Instead, it victimizes a young political aide and is instrumental in his premature death - just a day before his wedding at that!

This shocks the entire nation, and to date, nothing appears to appease or placate the public outrage. Not a "suicide note", not an Royal Commission of Inquiry.

It is dangerous especially now during election season, where public anger towards BN could potentially lead to BN losing seats to PR in a BIG way.

So this political angle has to be neutralised. BN doesn't want to be seen as the dominant bully who heartlessly kills its opponents. BN doesn't want to be punished.

MACC can no longer be seen as an ally of BN, or vice versa. In fact, it appears that MACC has been chosen to take the rap for allowing its witnesses to:
- commit suicide
- fall out of windows
- grow wings and attempt to fly
- test the theory of gravity
- display no sense of barophobia (learned a new word today, haven't you?)

Of course, MACC's insistent claim is that Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide. They say that is generally what people who have committed a crime and been caught red-handed do.

Now they are going to say that this custom officer had a huge sense of guilt and decided to end his own life. Just like Teoh Beng Hock.

It is just a matter of convenience that they have not disclosed the name of the customs officer in question. Though it really doesn't matter.

You and I are not going to do a DNA check on the dead man's body to verify if it really is the customs officer or some vagabond they found on the side of the road that no one cared about.

As long as they convince some people that the BN government and the MACC play by the rules. That is their goal and motive.

Wednesday, 6 April 2011

We've gained the attention of the Wall Street Journal for all the wrong reasons again.

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By JAMES HOOKWAY

The wife of embattled Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Tuesday that he isn't the man featured in a videotape having sex with another woman, condemning the airing of the clip as a crude attempt to smear his reputation ahead of a series of vital elections.

Parts of the video were leaked onto the Internet on Monday, triggering a flurry of speculation over whether the man in it really is Mr. Anwar. The opposition leader, who once served as Malaysia's deputy prime minister, has already said he isn't the man shown in the grainy, black-and-white film, and he describes it to reporters as "an evil plot."

Monday, 4 April 2011

If you think she looks familiar, it's because she's the sister of Sheila Majid.

As the story goes, she isn't too bad in terms of grey matter - she holds an MBA in Finance.

Perhaps what she didn't quite do right, is to marry Abu Bekir, son of Taib Mahmud who is the Chief Minister of Sarawak.

Some say that the family - political royals of Sarawak - were fortunate to welcome into their family someone who knew how to handle the family fortune.

However, things went sour, and here she is seeking a divorce.

It's not just a plan and simple divorce that she is seeking - she wants a settlement of RM400 million.

Some may say that for all the abuse she suffered in Abu Bekir's hands, she deserves it. Others contend that it is her legal right to acquire a third of his wealth.

This is where is all gets dicey. This divorce could go high profile, or it could be settled out of court. It does open for speculation the family wealth and of course, the skeletons in the family closet.

It's a pretty crowded closet as it is. The skeletons in there could equip science labs around the world for years to come.

The thing is, I haven't forgotten what happened to Ross Boyert, former aide to Taib Mahmud. It is shocking to read of the harassment he suffered - his car being firebombed, his reputation sullied etc.